TUCSON, Ariz. – In a game that came down to the final pitch, an earlier bit of wildness played a key role in the University of Mary's 6-5 loss to Northwestern College. Five of the six Red Raiders runs were scored by players who walked while the Marauders left the bases loaded in the ninth inning.
 
The Marauders (1-11 overall) opened the scoring when Brett Doepker's two out single to center scored Seth Meide and Sean Hennen, both on base after being hit by a pitch.
 
The Red Raiders (6-8) used two walks and a single in the second to score a run on a sacrifice fly. Walks to the first three Northwestern hitters in the fourth led to three runs and a 4-2 lead for the Red Raiders. The big blow was a two run double by Zach Cortese. The damage could have been worse in the third without a tremendous diving grab in deep right field by Cory Dixon on what turned into a sacrifice fly instead of an extra base hit.
 
Doepker cut the Marauders deficit to one run with a run scoring single in the fourth. A groundout by Tom Imholte tied the contest later in the inning.
 
A towering triple by Trenten Hove allowed the Marauders to regain the lead in the fifth. The sophomore leftfielder hit a one-out blast off the base of the wall in left field and rolled into third base standing.   A sacrifice bunt by Meide scored Hove for the go-ahead run and a 6-5 U-Mary advantage.
 
After Austin Ell and Kenny Slominski combined for two scoreless innings, a walk to lead off the top of the eighth turned the tables on the Marauders. A double and another walk loaded the bases with no outs but reliever Zach Steckler came on and held the damage to a pair of runs. The first run crossed the plate on a fielder's choice up the middle and the second on a sacrifice fly by Tony Schultz, providing the Red Raiders a 6-5 lead.
 
Refusing to fade away, the Marauders loaded the bases in the ninth on a one-out single by Imholte and two-out walks to Hove and Andrew Beyer, but the game ended on a pop-up to second.
 
Pettener paced the Marauders with a 3-for-4 effort. He scored once. Doepker was 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Hennen scored twice.
 
Freshman Jake Johnson pitched five innings for U-Mary. He struck out a career-high eight hitters and allowed five hits, seven walks and four runs. Ell pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless relief and Steckler pitched 2.0 hitless and scoreless innings.
 
Skyler Wheeler was 3-for-3 for the Red Raiders. Grant Lang was 3-for-4 and Cortese drove in three runs.
 
The Marauders close out their spring trip to Tucson with a pair of games against Northern State University and Cornell College on Friday, March 6.
 
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